


It's Always Calm Before a Storm (But I'm only calm around you)

by Starsrainpain



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bellarke, Best Friends, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Rain, a lil angst, so get cozy yall, this is a cozy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-07-12 22:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7126564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starsrainpain/pseuds/Starsrainpain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke loves rain. Bellamy does not. Etc. </p><p>or</p><p>The one where Bellamy and Clarke end up living together due to a leak in a ceiling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rain, Rain, Come Again

**Author's Note:**

> Keeping with the theme that Bellamy and Clarke trust each other unconditionally, here's this.

It was a stretch. Bellamy knew that. She was his best friend, but it was still a stretch. 

Not to mention how embarrassing it was. 

It wasn't like it would be too weird to be staying with Clarke. He'd spent the night at her house countless times. He was there nearly every day anyways, but this was different. Asking her to let him live with her for who knows how long.... Clarke was generous, but she could just as easily tell him to stay with Lincoln and Octavia.  
Which Bellamy seriously, seriously did not want to do. 

The rain though.... It had been going on for days now. A relentless downpour that hadn't ceased for even a moment since it had started on Sunday. Now, it was Tuesday. Of the next week. 

Bellamy's apartment was cheap. He worked at a museum, the same one as Clarke, but the difference was, the museum was just part-time for her. It was full-time for Bellamy. He wasn't particularly great- or even good- at anything else. 

Clarke on the other hand was a doctor, and in the free time she had, when she wasn't at the museum, she painted, which certainly wasn't bad for her bank account. She was amazing. Even the harshest critics complimented her art. 

And all Bellamy did was guide tours at a not very well known museum. 

And now it had been raining for nine days and his apartment was close to flooding. He could only empty buckets and replace them so quickly. It definitely didn't help that now he was spending even more of the little money he had on more tins, buckets, pots, anything he could use to catch the rain water that continuously dripped from his ceiling.  
Octavia had suggested early on that Bellamy just move in with Clarke. He'd sighed, and said that he was fine right where he was. 

And right now he was dashing from his sink to his bedroom with an empty jar that would have to be emptied again in half an hour, lest it overfill and defeat its own purpose entirely. He set the jar down and sat himself on the edge of his bed, just as one of the legs gave out. He sighed heavily and put his head in his hands. 

It wasn't that much of a stretch.  
-  
"Hey, Bell." 

"Yeah, hi." 

Bellamy knew he had no right to be short with Clarke as he trudged into her house with a suitcase and a backpack. He also knew that no matter how he acted, Clarke wouldn't send him home. 

He didn't wait for her niceties of "Welcome to my home, make yourself comfortable, I'll show you to the guest room," and instead dropped his belongings just outside the living room and threw himself onto the couch. 

"I'll move into the guest room in the morning." He grumbled, pulling a pillow under his head. 

"Right," He heard the click of a lamp being turned off over his head and thanked the Lord Himself that he'd been struck with such a Goddess of a best friend. Clarke drew the curtains mostly closed, but paused halfway and sighed. "It's so nice out." She leaned her head against the glass and Bellamy scoffed. 

"No, it's disgusting." He kicked off his shoes and Clarke pulled the curtains the rest of the way closed. 

"I seriously disagree," She said, and took his shoes with her as she left the room.  
-  
When Bellamy woke up, Clarke was working on bringing his entire house into hers.

"What time is it?" Bellamy sat up and watched Clarke and Octavia carry in a damp box. He assumed it was filled with books. 

"Late," Octavia grunted. 

"It's maybe one?" Clarke didn't stop to look at the watch on her wrist. "Good morning, by the way."

"Good afternoon." Bellamy answered. As bad as he felt letting his sister and best friend move his stuff for him, he wasn't ready to start his day. 

Not that Octavia was going to give him a choice, though. 

She came in only seconds after carrying the box into the guest room, wielding a pillow, which she promptly used to hit Bellamy in the face as he checked his phone. "Get up. This is your stuff we're moving." 

"Not like I asked you to," Bellamy put his phone down and stretched. 

"Not like Clarke asked you to move into her house."

"Not like she was against it."

"Not like you were either."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Absolutely nothing." Octavia drawled, in a tone that very obviously said something. Bellamy was just about to respond when Clarke came back. 

"So, there's maybe three boxes left and then all the big stuff is still over at your apartment- if you can call it that." Clarke smiled at Bellamy, and he was reminded once again how much of a Goddess his best friend was. 

"It's weird how much you two worship each other." Octavia glided out of the room. Bellamy laughed, knowing that it was really only true from his end. Clarke continued to smile warmly at him. 

"I really need to thank you, don't I?" Bellamy started, reaching a hand up to scratch at his neck. Clarke folded her arms across her chest. 

"Yeah," She smirked, and Bellamy sighed. 

"Seriously, though, it isn't forever, I promise."

"I mean, it's not like you're not still going to crash here all the time. You can stay for as long as you want. You're here all the time anyways, I seriously doubt that's going to change," Clarke glanced out the window at Octavia before taking a step towards Bellamy and continuing. "Bell, I mean it. I want you here. And it isn't just because you're other place is shitty and you deserve better- you do, obviously, but I've been asking you to move in since- since I don't even know how long." She stepped back again, her air of seriousness gone. "It's actually only because I want you to cook for me every single night ever." 

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "If that's the cost of rent at Casa de Clarke then I'll probably end up staying longer than I'd intended." 

"Casa de Clarke?" Clarke laughed. "Whatever, go out and use your big strong man muscles to get the last two boxes. Looks like Octavia's got the third." She nodded at the younger girl, who saluted back, balancing box number three on her hip. 

"Or I could grab one and you could use your big strong lady muscles to get the other." Bellamy quirked an eyebrow up.

"I think I'll pass, thanks." Clarke feigned a polite response, curtsying before leaving for the guest room to put books on a shelf. If Bellamy was going to be living there, the room should look like his. 

Octavia beat Bellamy to the guest room- his room- with the third box. She thunked it down, shaking the rain out of her hair. "I should probably mention just how much Bell hates rain." She breathed out at the sound of her brother coming down the hallway.

"Trust me, I know." Clarke laughed, the thought of him dragging himself out of the rain and into her home the night before reaching her mind. Octavia shook her head though.

"I mean, he really hates rain. I'm surprised he's even out of bed."

"Hard to get out of bed when I never even got in it." Bellamy dropped the last two boxes on the floor behind Octavia. "Talking about me?" 

"When am I not?" Clarke responded automatically. Octavia made a faux retching sound.

"I'm gonna make my exit now. I'll be back later, I guess. When are you going to tell Jas and Monty? And Miller and Raven?" Octavia paused in the doorway, waiting for a response.

"I guess tonight? Bellamy's cooking, so we'll host game night this time." Clarke answered, and the way she fit Bellamy so easily into her life caught him off guard. Something made him wonder how much of a joke it had been when she had said she was always talking about him.

"'Kay. Bye guys." Octavia fled the house, ignoring the thank you that Clarke called after her.


	2. The Weather Outside is Frightful (with a capital fright)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke rolled over after an especially long internal debate over whether she should check on Bellamy or not. If the storm had woken her up, surely he would be awake too. But he was an adult, older than her, even. He would be fine. 
> 
> However, after she'd rolled over and tried to get back to sleep for far too long, her eyes flicked open. Facing the door, she noticed that it was slightly ajar. She'd double checked it before she had gone to bed. It had been closed when she fell asleep. 
> 
> Suddenly the rain wasn't so comforting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featuring tough guy Bellamy and frustrated mom Clarke.

 

Clarke had been waiting by her phone since the Sunday that it started raining, ready to pick up as soon as Bellamy called. He had, several times, but only to complain, not to ask for a place to stay. When he'd finally called, Clarke hadn't even let him finish his question. "Of course you can stay here." She'd said, before he could even bring up his bed breaking, or ask to take advantage of her guest room. 

It wasn't anything abnormal, fitting Bellamy into her daily schedule. He was always there for various reasons and she didn't have to show him how to use or where to find anything in her house. She was glad to have him around. He cooked, he didn't make a mess, he didn't care about the incessant teasing that came from their friends when they told them they were living together for a while. He treated it as though it weren't worth his time, and treated her like she was. 

The rain did not cease. In fact, it only got worse. Clarke found herself staying up even later than usual, gazing out her bedside window and watching the rain make trails down the glass. She knew that Bellamy would have been asleep for hours already had it not been for her repeated visits to his room, where she would jump on his bed and show him her latest sketch, talking excitedly about how she could turn it into a series, or how she could add color, or how much she loved the rain. He would listen patiently until he thought she was done, and then he would politely kick her out of his room. 

Clarke didn't think it was possible for the rain to get any heavier, or to come with any more intensity. But the weather proved her wrong, and in the night on the second Saturday after the rain had started, a thunderstorm woke her up. She laid in her bed, staring out her window at the trees that whipped back and forth in the wind, and at the lightning that lit up the sky. Clarke sighed, content with how things were now. She could get used to it.

She rolled over after an especially long internal debate over whether she should check on Bellamy or not. If the storm had woken her up, surely he would be awake too. But he was an adult, older than her, even. He would be fine. 

However, after she'd rolled over and tried to get back to sleep for far too long, her eyes flicked open. Facing the door, she noticed that it was slightly ajar. She'd double checked it before she had gone to bed. It had been closed when she fell asleep. Suddenly the rain wasn't comforting. 

Deep down, she knew it had to have been Bellamy that opened her door. But the only thought that would make itself loud enough to be heard was _what if it wasn't Bellamy?_ to which she responded by slowly sitting up in her bed and lowering her feet onto the carpeted floor. She found herself in the lit hallway before she knew she'd moved. Then she was tiptoeing towards Bellamy's door. 

She pushed the door open with her finger, and she sighed with relief. Bellamy was sitting on the edge of his bed, obviously awake. But something else was wrong. 

He was shaking.

"Bell?" Clarke managed to say quietly. Bellamy's eyes darted up to her, and the color red that he turned was ridiculous even for Clarke. She guessed at what he was feeling though, and she crept forward, careful not to be too fast or choppy. Clarke sat next to Bellamy on his bed and took his hand. "It's fine, Bell."

"I- I know that, of course." Bellamy tried to scoff, but it came out as a wheeze instead, which sent him into a fit of coughs. Clarke shook her head and rubbed his back until he'd caught his breath again. 

"Do you want me to stay?" She asked, trying to get him to look at her, but he only shook his head. "Do you want to come to my room?" She was trying to give him every chance to admit defeat that she could, but he shook his head again. "Are you sure?" She offered one last time, and he shook his head again. "What do you want, Bell?" She tried to coax an answer out of him, and it worked. 

"Can I just-" He choked, and paused to suck in any air he could grasp. Trying again, he seemed a bit calmer. "Could I possibly just sleep in your room?" The full sentence came out finally, and Clarke didn't answer, instead pulling him up by his hand and leading him into her room. She let him get into her bed first, then joined him.

He was still shaking, but not nearly as badly as he had been when she'd found him. She stroked his hair gently, whispering things to him that she hoped would take his mind off the storm. After he'd fallen asleep, she reached for her phone to text Octavia, only to find several messages from her already waiting.

**Octagon Blake**

**He's afraid of thunder**  
**When I said he hates the rain**  
**I also meant that he's afraid of storms**  
**He shakes and stuff**  
**Check on him???**  
**Is he okay?**  
**Clarke he isn't answering my texts**  
**Now you aren't either omG**  
**Text me as soon as you get these pl0x**

**He's fine Octavia. He's**  
**in my room rn. He's asleep.**

**I s2G if you fucked him to get his**  
**mind off the storm I'm going to scream**

**I did not fuck your brother , oh my god**

**Whatever it takes, Clarke.**

 

Clarke sighed and put her phone back on her bedside table. As if in response, Bellamy sighed next to her. She smiled and curled into him, wrapping an arm around his waist to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. 

This was also something, she observed, that she could get used to.

-

 

The next morning, Bellamy made breakfast, setting a plate with too much bacon on it in front of Clarke and sliding into the stool across the island from her. She raised an eyebrow at the plate of food, but Bellamy was too preoccupied with twiddling his thumbs to notice her questioning look.

"Bell? I know you think I'm like, the all-american-princess, or something, but I seriously do not like bacon this much." She chuckled as he stood again and crossed to her. 

"Sorry, I'll get rid of it." He was obviously trying to sound cool and collected, but when he dumped the entire plate into the garbage, Clarke sighed.

"Bellamy," It was her turn to stand and cross the kitchen to him. She touched his arm from behind in a way that she hoped was gentle and reassuring. 

"Yeah, what?" He didn't turn around, instead staring at the sink. 

"Please calm down," she started, and he finally faced her, although he still didn't meet her eye. "What happened last night was- listen, you're afraid of storms and that's noth-"

"I am _not_ afraid of storms." Bellamy interjected, and Clarke huffed.

"Either way, it's not something to be embarrassed about. Everyone is afraid of things. And if you need help, it's okay to ask for it." Clarke backed away from Bellamy as he mulled over her words. 

He had never felt as loved as he did in that moment.

But he would deal with that later. 

Now, though, he was as red as a tomato, and Clarke was pretending not to notice.

"I'm not afraid of storms." He said simply, and walked briskly out of the kitchen, leaving Clarke to clean up the mess from the meal he had made (just to throw away). Instead, she pulled out her phone.

**Octagon Blake**

**Tough guy won't talk to me**  
**what do i do**

**He's ignoring you?**  
**I'm calling him**

**No!!!**  
**Don't call him**  
**He isn't ignoring me**  
**If he knows I said something**  
**he might try and move out**

**What do you want me to say then?**

**Not entirely sure.**  
**How do I get him to talk to me**

**Yell**  
**A lot**  
**and cry because you thought you were**  
**better friends than that**

**K**  
**BRB**

_Of course_ Clarke wasn't going to do that. She played the scene out in her head, and didn't like the way it went. 

That left her no way to communicate with Bellamy, other than to force herself onto him.

He was sitting at the desk in his room when she came in. He startled, turning to face her carefully, but not standing.

"Why won't you talk to me? I mean, you're living in my house. I'm pretty sure you can trust me with anything." She said evenly, and Bellamy sighed. 

"You're aren't gonna' drop this, are you?"

"I might, after about sixteen years."

"Any significance to that number?"

" _Stop trying to change the subject,_ Bellamy."

He sighed again, and for a second, Clarke felt bad for making him sigh twice in a row. But that thought quickly left as she thought about the night before. She wasn't going to be able to be there all the time for him, but she wanted to help.

"I'm not afraid of storms-"

"Then what the Hell happened last night? Afraid of my house? What could it possibly be, Bellamy?" She could feel herself getting more and more frustrated with him. 

"If you could not cut me off, that would be great." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not afraid of storms. It's just the thunder." He looked out the window at the beautiful, sunny day outside. 

Clarke thought back to the texts she had received from Octavia the night before. She had specifically said thunder. Although, right afterward, she said storms. Clarke understood her own confusion then. 

"I have really sensitive ears, so not even mentioning the actual fear of it, the thunder causes me genuine physical pain." A pause. "My brain associates thunder with pain, and pain is a negative feeling, which leads to fear. I've tried getting into the mentality of 'oh, it's just a noise, it's just annoying how it makes your ears bleed sometimes, no biggie' but that only lasted for about a day." He stood then, looking down at Clarke with steely eyes. "So there you go. It's not that I'm afraid of thunder, it's that it causes me to feel negative things."

Clarke stood quietly for a moment before she responded. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry I pushed you. If you ever need anything, let me know. Please. As per my own request. Now, do you want to go get breakfast somewhere?" Bellamy seemed thrown off by her return to normality, but Clarke didn't care. "I know you've been _dying_ to get outside and enjoy the weather _forever_." At that, Bellamy was obviously relieved. 

''Dying? Yeah, but less so over the weather, more so over the fact that I fucking threw away the breakfast I made." He answered, and that was the end of that conversation. 


	3. A Happy Sort of Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do the other delinquents think about what's going on? Who knows.... Oh wait, I do. And you're about to as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um so  
> This is a little awkward  
> It's been a while.
> 
> I know I said I would be updating super quickly in last chap's notes.... and I didn't..... yeah.....
> 
> Stuff came up. I doubt you guys wanna hear my excuses. Although, I hope you'll accept my apology.

"It's new, but it's not new. I don't know what to think of it." 

It had been three weeks since it stopped raining, and as Jasper and Octavia stood in the doorway to the kitchen in Clarke ~~and Bellamy~~ 's house, they watched Clarke and Bellamy. There was obviously something different in the way they moved around each other, but no one could pinpoint it exactly. 

To Octavia, they seemed like they were tip-toeing around each other, but to Jasper, they only seemed closer than they were. Raven thought they were elated about finally living together, and Monty barely noticed anything at all, aside from what Clarke told him. 

"You know what I think of it." Octavia raised an eyebrow as Bellamy tossed the pepper shaker to Clarke and laughed when she barely caught it. "It's uncomfortable."

"For you, or for them? Because to me, they seem pretty comfortable with each other." Jasper sighed as Bellamy and Clarke high fived over something he had missed. He thought it was cute, the way they interacted with each other. Or rather, the way they didn't have to use words, or even body language, to communicate with each other. They appeared to be able to communicate mentally, and Jasper couldn't handle that without thinking there was something going on between them- something other than just living together. Of course, Monty had stayed up with Jasper several times before, listening to talk of how cute Clarke and Bellamy would be together ( _or even just having sex_ , as Jasper had pointed out, to which Monty had cringed outwardly. _Is that what you think about when you're around them?_ Monty had demanded, and Jasper had only said _That's not the only time I think about it_ and winked.), and this had included their hypothesizing ways that Clarke and Bellamy could keep their relationship secret from their friends. 

Making up some excuse to live together was on the list, and Jasper was obsessed with finding out everything he could about Bellamy's sudden decision to move in to Clarke's house. 

"Tell me again, why was it that Bellamy just suddenly moved into his beautiful, sexy, voluptuous, gorgeous, amazing best friend's house?" Jasper chased after Octavia, who had grown bored with watching the two in the kitchen and was now making her way back to the living room. 

"His apartment was falling apart and she had been asking him to move in with her for months anyways." She kept walking, ignoring Jasper's string of suppose-to-be-compliments.

"Okay, okay, but why didn't he just get a better apartment?"

"Have you seen where he works?" Octavia sat next to Lincoln on the couch, receiving a kiss on the cheek, which brought a smile to her face. "It's not exactly the best paying job ever."

"Clarke works there too, though. And she lives _here_." Jasper pointed out.

"Clarke also has two super rich parents who fight over who loves her more by sending her checks." Octavia said, a light tone to her voice.

"Clarke also has three jobs." Lincoln added, not missing a beat in the conversation. 

"Okay, but Clarke has also been single for almost the _exact same amount of time_ as Bellamy." Jasper folded his arms as though he had won the argument, but Lincoln only laughed.

"And you've been single for almost the exact same amount of time as Monty."

"That's different."

"How?" Lincoln and Octavia asked at the same time. 

"We're both guys."

"You're both bi!" Octavia cried out, throwing her hands into the air.

"Clarke is too."

"How is Clarke's sexuality relevant to this conversation at all?"

"How is mine? Or Monty's?"  
  
"Okay Jas, I want you to tell me how you being single for the same amount of time as Monty is any different from Clarke being single for the same amount of time as Bellamy."

"I already did, I said we are both guys."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Genitals."

"You are losing this argument and you know it." Octavia accused, not bothering to go against Jasper's half ass attempt at a winning statement. He shook his head in disagreement, but didn't try to continue.

"Jasper, why don't you just ask Clarke what's going on with her and Bellamy?" Monty suggested from the floor, where he and Miller were sitting. 

"That's no fun." Raven pouted in an imitation of Jasper. The group laughed, and Jasper collapsed onto the end of the couch. 

"You guys don't understand me at all." He rubbed at his eyes.  
  
"'Don't worry mom, it's not a phase.' That's you right now. Emo Jasper." Raven shook her head at Jasper as he rolled over and looked at her.

"Maybe it isn't a phase. Maybe I'll die not knowing what's going on between them. You really want me to be like this until I die? I'm like, the healthiest person here. I'll definitely outlive all of you. Which means that you'll have to deal with me like this forever." He sat up. "So just help me find out what's going on!" He cried, his last attempt at gathering help from his friends. This did not make them want to help him, though. Instead, they all just laughed. 

"Jasper, dude, give it a rest, please." Miller begged. 

"You cannot go in there and watch them and then tell me that there's nothing there." Jasper said. "And that's all I'm going to say on that." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Finally," Miller sighed, leaning into Monty, who looked startled for a second before responding by throwing an arm around Miller. Jasper rolled his eyes.

"They're _totally_ banging though." Raven said after a moment of quiet in the room. Jasper jumped to his feet like his seat was on fire, and started screaming about how he knew it wasn't just him. 

"Who made him scream this time?" Bellamy made his entrance, followed by a giggling Clarke. At the sight of them, Jasper froze, and sat down calmly.

"No one. I just lost at Mario Kart." He said evenly, giving them a completely neutral face. 

"The tv isn't even on, Jas." Clarke rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We don't want to know."

 _We_. Jasper's internal monologue went blank at that two letter word. He felt completely numb, as if that two letter word completely proved his suspicions. He shot a pointed look at Octavia, who looked like she hadn't even noticed. In fact, he looked like the only one who _had_ noticed. 

Jasper had never been more appalled with his friends.


	4. The Echo of Lightning is Called Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, enjoy. I like this chapter a lot for a few reasons.

 

It was a Wednesday, and for once, every single one of their friends were busy, and Clarke and Bellamy were alone.

They had been planning to host game night at their house again that week, but one by one, each of their friends had called or texted to alert them of other quote-and-quote responsibilities they'd had.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say they planned this." Bellamy grumbled as he gazed out the window at the dark clouds rolling over the city. He was not looking forward to that night.

"Yeah, seriously. It's like, we've hosted game night how many _weeks_ in a row now? And we've only ever had _maybe_ one or two people not able to come." Clarke joined him by the window, pressing against his side casually. "It's definitely bizarre." She looked from the sky to Bellamy's face, noting that they were equally cloudy. "Are you going to be okay tonight? It's supposed to storm pretty badly."

Bellamy let out a sigh. "Who knows. We all know how inaccurate those weather predictions can be." He forced a laugh out, and Clarke sagged beneath the weight of it.

"Yeah, well, if you need anything, let me know."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Clarke. Don't worry about it."

"No, I will worry about it. The last time I told you I was there for anything you needed, you ignored me until I stormed into your room wielding a bat." Clarke raised an eyebrow. "Please, for me, tell me what you need when you need it?"

Bellamy smirked and wrapped an arm around Clarke's waist, pulling her closer to his side. "Are we thinking of the same incident? I don't remember there being a bat involved. Though the use of the word 'stormed' was pretty accurate."

Clarke elbowed Bellamy gently in the side. "We're thinking of the same incident. I was just about to get the bat when you finally started talking. Just imagine what would have happened if you'd held out just a _little_  bit longer." She looked up at him, and found him already looking. Clarke smirked back at Bellamy's smug expression. "You'd be black and blue."

"No, I would have you pinned before you got the first swing in."

"Is that a challenge, Blake?"

"I mean, not really. Even though I'm right, I'd rather not test my luck. After all, I was forced to sit through watching you playing softball throughout _all_ of high school. I know what you can do with a bat." He eyed her carefully.

"I'm taking it as a challenge." She said as though she hadn't heard his response. He sighed and watched her hair bounce as she bobbed down the hallway to retrieve her bat.

"Because this is exactly how I wanted to start my day." He grumbled. "No, I totally didn't just want to, I don't know, go to breakfast? Maybe sit down a while, talk about something trivial and small, then tell Clarke all about how much I actually love her, come home, have a relaxin-" Bellamy was just muttering things to himself, but what he had said out loud finally met his brain. _Oh my god._ He thought, steadying himself on the window sill. _I just said it out loud._ He took a shaky breath. He'd known it for some time. Since after he'd moved in, after Clarke pulled him from his bed and into hers, after the first game night they'd hosted, but still, it had been a while. He loved her. And he was living with her. He loved Clarke. He was _in love with_ Clarke. He knew all that. He had known it. He had thought about it for weeks, months. But he had never said it out loud.

The fact that it had finally been said and not just thought didn't change anything really, it just threw Bellamy off kilter for a moment. A quick, short moment.

It was still long enough for Clarke to sneak up behind him and whack him with her bat, right in the side.

Bellamy fell sideways, and as Clarke raised the bat over her shoulder again, he took a split second to recover, then dove for her legs. She yelped, but swung the bat down and hit his leg. He didn't wince, just knocked her down and pushed the bat away from her. Bellamy planted his hands on top of hers and held her down on the ground. Clarke was pinned.

"See? I've always got you down easy, Princess."

"Oh, please. I hit you twice before you even had me on the ground." Clarke smiled, proud that she'd gotten to him before he'd noticed.

"Yeah, you did." He said quietly, looking down at Clarke, who was still smiling to herself.

Loving Clarke was nothing new. It had been years. He'd loved her for years. He was only just now noticing. And God, did it hurt.

Or maybe that was from the bat.

"Ah shit, you got me good, Princess." He rolled off of her and laid on his back on the carpeted floor, holding his side. "It's gonna leave a real nice bruise."

Suddenly, Clarke was concerned. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Why would you let me do that to you?" She asked, and Bellamy just sighed with a smile on his face. "Come on, we both know that you knew I was sneaking up behind you. I'm not the stealthiest person ever, I know that. You know that. Everyone knows that." She was mostly talking to herself now as she pulled up Bellamy's shirt to inspect his side. "Holy shit, Bell, I think you have a broken rib! Why would you let me do that to you?" She cried again, sitting on her knees. "God, oh, God! Bellamy Blake! You're so stupid, you know that? You're so- you're so frustrating!" Clarke pulled her fingers through her hair and worried her lip. Bellamy stood and watched as she paced around the room, keeping her back to him as she spouted obscenity after obscenity about how stupid he was for letting her do that to him.

"Clarke?" When he finally spoke, she spun around. Bellamy found himself caught off guard by how distraught she looked, and by the tears that seemed to be streaming steadily down her face. 

"Bell, I really, really didn't want to hurt you. You have to know that, right?" She crossed the room to where he stood, taking his hand in hers. "I thought you would take me down before I could hit you, and the way you just kept moving after I hit you anyways, I thought I had missed- and that's why I swung again! I'm so sorry, Bell."

Bellamy frowned. "Of course I know you didn't want to hurt me, Clarke- come here." He pulled her towards him and wrapped both arms around her, holding her against his chest. She kept her head bowed and shook a little, but she didn't fight him or say anything. "You don't need to apologize, okay? It's- I'm fine. I have a high threshold for pain." He rubbed up and down her arm, hoping the motion was calming.

"I still don't understand why you let me do it." She mumbled, finally returning the embrace. Bellamy took a step back and wiped a few stray tears from her face.

"I- uh, I sort of got a bit distracted." He looked around wildly for something to blame his lapse in attention on. "By.... The weather. It's gloomy. It's ah, kind of freaking me out. No big deal." He straightened his shirt and looked back at Clarke.

"So you are worried about the storm tonight." Clarke frowned as though she had cracked some sort of code. "I told you to tell me when you were worried." She smacked his chest.

"Well actually, you told me to tell you if I needed anything. Which I don't." Bellamy picked up his forgotten cup of coffee and took a long drink. "Besides, even if I had needed something, you were- well, a little too _busy_ to pay attention, weren't you?"

He knew that she was sensitive right now (though for what reason he couldn't piece together) and that he was being awful. But cocky, arrogant prick was part of his every day character. So he went with it.

"You're.... Terrible. Awful. Mean, cruel, shitty, whatever you want to call yourself. Remind me why I wanted to live with you again?" Clarke pushed her hair from her face and walked to where Bellamy stood with his mug, retrieving her own from next to his.

Bellamy, feeling her presence at his side, slid an arm around her waist and smirked. "Well, that's because you love me."


	5. Gentle Rain, Like Your Eyes

 

"I've figured it out, you know." 

Clarke and Bellamy were sitting in their living room, watching some documentary that Bellamy had picked. It was raining, but it was a gentle rain. 

"Figured what out?" Bellamy was the only one watching the documentary. Clarke was gazing out the window, quietly watching the rain fall. This was the first time they'd said anything since he'd started the documentary. 

"You're a dog." She responded, turning around to face him. He made a puzzled face at her. 

"I thought you said I was a rat."

"That's your Chinese zodiac, Bell."

"But I thought you said I was a Sagittarius."

"That's your regular zodiac, Bell."

"Then what the hell do you mean, I'm a dog?"

Clarke sighed like she was already frustrated with the conversation. "I mean, you're a dog. You act like a dog." She paused to take in his expression, which read boredom and exasperation. "You sleep like, twenty-four-seven. You go stir crazy if you're inside for too long. I basically have to walk you every day, and feed and water you. And then there's the storm thing."

"What does the storm thing have to do with me being a dog?" 

"Well, aren't like, all dogs afraid of storms?"

"No, that isn't true. Octavia and I had a dog once that loved storms. He'd sit by the window and watch them. Like you do."

"Well excuse me, most dogs are afraid of storms."

"Yeah, and so are a lot of other animals. Why am I a dog specifically?"

"I already answered that, Bell."

"Okay but, should I take that as an insult?"

"Not at all. I love dogs, they're sweet and affectionate. They're comforting." She smiled to herself, and as a thought went through her head, her smile grew. "Bell, let's get a dog!"

Bellamy laughed at her. She was adorable and kind and he loved her, and now she wanted to get a dog with him. He was lucky, and he thanked the stars endlessly for letting him find her. 

"I thought we already had a dog." He smiled as she clambered onto the couch (and failed to resist checking out her boobs when she leaned forward). 

"Yeah, but you're not the good kind of dog. You're like the smelly kind."

"How do you know the dog we get won't be the smelly kind?"

"That's a yes, isn't it? We're getting a dog!" She was smiling so wide and her face was so bright that all Bellamy could do was watch as she pulled her laptop onto the couch. She positioned herself as close to Bellamy as she could and pulled up several websites for dog adoption centers. 

"Even if the dog is the smelly kind, you should still love it, Clarke. Everyone has imperfections." Bellamy nudged her gently and she hummed in response. 

"I never said I didn't love you, I only said you were smelly." Clarke didn't take her eyes off the screen, but she could feel her own face heat up, if only by a little. 

It wasn't something she was used to, being affectionate, getting embarrassed, being domestic. Especially with Bellamy. She'd always figured that if she were to ever be like this with someone, it would be some guy or gal she met at work, or a bartender from her favorite pub, or if she got desperate, someone she met online. But here she was, sitting on a couch, snuggled up to someone, looking at pictures of puppies that they were thinking about adopting together. And that someone was Bellamy. 

Clarke had never had the dream of being a princess as a child. She'd never really sought out relationships either. She had only ever dated out of convenience. She'd never wanted or needed a knight in shining armor, or a female warrior to come and save her. She would have the dragon beat before the poor person even got on their horse. Clarke was independent, and she had fought for just that. 

But now there was someone else.

Now there was Bellamy.

-

Three hours later, the dynamic duo had a list of about fifteen puppies to review. Clarke wanted to go meet each of them, but Bellamy thought they should try to narrow down their options first, then go meet their canine candidates. 

Clarke was laying in between Bellamy's legs, leaning back on his chest, with the computer in her lap when she finally closed it. 

"We're getting a dog together, Bell."

"We are? Since when?" Clarke let out a tired laugh in response. 

They laid in silence for a while, and when it broke, it was Bellamy who spoke first. 

"So, ah, what's next- as far as master pieces go?" 

"Mm, I've actually started a few things."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not really. Do you want to just see them?"

They pulled themselves off the couch and made their way to Clarke's room. However, when they entered, there was no usual mess of paint or pencils or paper. The room was oddly clean, and Bellamy was confused. 

"Bell, over here." Clarke beckoned from her massive closet, turning on the light and pulling on a doorknob at the back of it.

"Wait, you have an attic?" Bellamy ventured up the stairs that appeared from behind the door before Clarke, and into the attic he had been ignorant of for so many years. 

"Sure I do. It's like, my favorite part of the house," She followed him up the stairs. "Go ahead and take a look." She added sarcastically, seeing him wander around the simplistic room regardless of an invitation. 

"How come I've never been up here?"

"I've never really had a reason to show you," Clarke followed him around as he inspected her recent works. He seemed stuck on one that displayed tangles of black swirls and layers of golden tendrils. 

"Also, technically, it isn't an attic. The attic is still above us- no bigger than a crawlspace. This was supposed to be the second story of the house, but, I mean, you saw where the door was. And ah, this room we're in? It runs the whole length and width of the building. The house was built pretty oddly, obviously."

"Obviously," Bellamy echoed. He'd made his way to the window at the end of the room, which took up most of the wall. Clarke sat on the couch parallel to the window, about six feet out from the wall, and watched Bellamy stare out the window. 

"Bell, come sit," Her voice drew Bellamy from his trance-like state, and he followed it to the couch, sitting close to her and wishing she were closer still. "Watch the rain." His gaze was locked on the window, on the rain, on her favorite thing, and he was thinking so clearly, and he was _terrified_. "Isn't it nice?"

"Not at all." He answered immediately, and Clarke frowned. 

"You're so stubborn, Bell, you know that?" 

"Yeah, I know it." Bellamy pulled his eyes from the window and looked at Clarke. "But you love me anyways."

"Of course I do." Clarke sighed, then Bellamy was moving. Now he was pulling _her_  eyes from the window, and towards his own. He had only a moment to look into hers, and then his were closed, and he was kissing her.

There were a few moments between them where neither of the two could be bothered to break the kiss. It was quiet and easy, and gentle and intense, and Bellamy was _loving_ it. Clarke was kissing him back, which meant that she felt _something_  for him, right?

When their lips finally parted, Clarke looked terribly sad. Bellamy's heart dropped into his stomach as she drew herself away from him and off of the couch.  
"Bellamy-" Clarke was cut off by her phone- a single ding, Raven's text tone. She looked at Bellamy once more before stalking out of the room, going down the stairs and off into another part of the house. 

Bellamy sat on the couch for a long time, watching the rain as it slowed, then stopped altogether. He was still there, when Clarke returned, hours later, dressed and fixing her hair. 

"Raven and I are going out for a while with Monty and Jas. I put some left over ziti in the microwave for you, it should be warm in a few minutes. Please check it? Don't burn the house down, if at all possible." She stopped for a moment, looking him over. "What in the world is wrong, Bell?" 

He must have looked at her like she was absolutely insane, because she laughed at him when their eyes met again. 

"Come on, Bell, it's not even raining anymore. Go downstairs. I'll be home in a few hours." She pat his shoulder as she left again, and Bellamy felt like all the air in the room left with her. 


	6. Let the Floodgates Open

 

"So, he just, _kissed you_?" Monty inquired after sending Jasper back to the bar for more drinks. It was agreed among the group that Jasper wasn't to know until after Clarke had sorted it out, or at least until it had blown over. Clarke was sort of a mess, and Raven and Monty were trying their hardest to keep her talking. 

"Yeah, just, went for it. I just feel so awful because I _guarantee_  he only did it because I had been sorta flirty all day and he thought that I was into him and then felt bad and thought 'Oh, what's one little kiss?'." She lowered her voice in an imitation of Bellamy. Raven sighed and looked at Monty. 

"Have you considered that maybe it wasn't a pity kiss?" Raven ventured, and Clarke laughed halfheartedly. 

"Of course I have."

"And? Do you suddenly remember him being awkward, quiet moments where you would just stare at each other? Anything at all?" Raven pushed, hoping the examples would spark a memory, but Clarke only shook her head. 

"Really? Nothing?" Monty raised an eyebrow.

"Really. The way Bellamy is, is the way Bellamy has been, since I can remember." Clarke leaned on her hand, closing her eyes. 

"Well, uh, maybe he's been in love with you since you can remember." Jasper slid four tall mugs onto the table and pushed himself in next to Monty. Raven and Monty exchanged glances quickly.

"Jasper, how much did you hear?" Monty asked, nervous. 

"Not much, but still enough. You guys should have waited until I got back to talk about it." Jasper looked at Clarke, matching her slumped pose. "I didn't hear the part about why she's so bummed."

"It was a pity kiss." Clarke mumbled, not making eye contact. Jasper frowned. 

"No, no it wasn't." 

"Yeah, Jas, it was. There is zero doubt in my mind that it wasn't." 

"Why do you say that? How would he have known that you love him?" Jasper took a sip from his mug, leaving a mustache of foam around his mouth. Clarke sighed and took a napkin to his face, wiping the foam away without thinking too much about it. 

"I don't know, Jas. He's not stupid."

"Well, I mean, this is Bell-"

"Woah, wait a second. Did you just admit that you love him?" Raven interrupted Jasper's attempt at logic to point out to Clarke what she had seemed to say without thinking.

Like wiping away foam.

Like loving Bellamy. 

She'd never thought that that's what love felt like. She'd never considered that wanting to sleep next to someone every night was what love was. She'd never wondered why she had never wanted to be domestic with someone, yet she didn't want to stop being domestic with him. He was more than just someone to her. She hadn't thought about it, but she did love him. 

"I think I did." Clarke stared at her glass. "I guess I just hadn't realized," She took a deep breath. "Until now." She slowly slumped over again, ignoring the happy gasps that erupted from the back of Jaspers throat.

"This is better than finding out they were having sex this whole time!" He said to Monty, who hushed him. 

"Honestly, that would probably be less of a mess than this." Clarke squeezed her eyes shut. "This is terrible." 

"How?" Raven rubbed Clarke's back gently. "Love is great."

"Yeah, but not when it's your roommate. Your stupid, awful, attractive, terrible, funny, annoying, caring-" Clarke stopped herself. "I'm doing that gross thing from, like, movies, aren't I?" The rest nodded. "Shit," She twisted the ring on her pointer finger around a few times. 

"I mean, if you're so against the movie cliche thing, why don't you go get him?" Monty pulled Jasper into his lap and looked at Clarke. 

"God, I could. I should. I want to." Clarke bit the inside of her cheek. "But we're living together! What if it goes wrong?" There was a piece of hair entwined in her fingers now. She pulled and twisted it. 

"You know what I always say, Clarke," Jasper took another sip of beer. "YOLO."

-

 

Clarke unlocked her door a few hours later, the buzz of alcohol distracting her from the light that was on in the living room. 

"Oh, Bell, you're still awake. Lovely." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and dropping her shoes in the bin by the door. 

"Yeah, I am. I don't think you are, though." Bellamy stood as Clarke joined him on the couch. 

Clarke threw herself down onto the couch and sighed. "Why'd you kiss me, Bell?"

Bellamy almost laughed. "Why do you think I did it?"

Clarke frowned, furrowing her brows. "Pity."

"You couldn't be more wrong, Clarke."

"Well, y'coulda' said that before you kissed me, Bell."

"I didn't think it would fit the mood."

Clarke laughed a little laugh and took a deep breath. "Yeah. It wouldn't have. You're right." She paused and looked up at him. "You're always right, Bell. You're really smart."

Bellamy smiled. "Thanks, Clarke." He stared at her for another moment before clearing his throat. "You should get to bed, Princess." Clarke shook her head. 

"Come with me."

"I'd love to, but I think I'll stay here for now."

"Then so will I." She crawled along the couch and came to rest next to Bellamy. He sighed, but wrapped her in his arms all the same. "D'you know what I thought, that night I came and got you during the storm?"

"Tell me."

"I thought, 'wow, I could get used to sleeping next to someone, this is nice.'. But it wasn't just someone. It was you, Bell." She nuzzled her face into his neck, breathing him in. "It's like, 'wow, I could get used to sleeping next to Bellamy.'."

Bellamy's heart literally _fluttered_. 

Eventually, after she'd fallen asleep, Bellamy carried her to bed. When he laid her down, she roused for a moment and muttered something along the lines of "Please, please, please stay, Bellamy." 

And _God_ , had he wanted to. But in the end, he had just brushed her hair gently from her face, kissed her on the forehead, and gone off to his own room.


	7. Let Her Flood My Memories, Sweetly

Clarke woke mighty early, thunder clapping from a distance, barely audible. The sound did nothing to ease the pounding in her head, but her nerves from the night before seemed to have dissipated. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand and checked the time, but quickly became distracted at the flurry of notifications that lit her phone. 

 

**Octagon Blake**

**So,,**

**Raven told me what happened**

**You're an idiot**

**So is he, but he's at least KNOWN he**

**loves you for months now.**

**I can't give you much advice on this**

**but don't mess it up, yeah? Cool.**

 

**Jazzy Pear**

**Dude**

**Dude**

**Dude**

**DUDE**

**You told him**

**right??**

**Clarke**

**CLARKE**

**LMK what happened, bro???**

 

**Monocle Grey**

**Jasper is freaking out and Miller**

**wants you to know you have his**

**blessing.**

**Raven is still yelling about losing**

**the bet she made with Jasper**

 

**Miller**

**Clarke**

**PLEASE tell us what happened**

**like ASAP**

**Sexy slumber party got crashed**

**by jasper and i will continue to**

**be mad at you until you get Jas**

**out of my house.**

**thx**

 

Apparently, Clarke was really bad at communicating. 

 

She went over the conversation that they'd had when she'd gotten home the night before, and as far as Bellamy went, she felt pretty optimistic.  _You couldn't be more wrong._ He'd said. That did nothing but give her hope. 

 

She wondered if she should text him to see if he was awake, but decided against it. If he wasn't, she didn't want to deal with the embarrassment of him waking up to an  _r u up?_ text. 

 

She had to know if he was awake somehow, though. 

 

After rehearsing what she wanted to tell him a few times, she followed the same path she'd taken during the last thunderstorm to his room. His light was on, and he sat up in bed, leaning against the wall. 

 

"Don't you have work in the morning?" Clarke leaned against his doorframe. He examined her posture for a moment, clearly expecting her. 

 

"Not like I could sleep anyways." He darted a pointed glance to the window, and Clarke sagged. 

 

"Is there anything I can do?"

 

"I mean, besides conquering the weather and telling whoever is in charge of thunder to fuck off?" Clarke snorted at him and he smiled. "How about telling our friends to leave me alone." Clarke's heart dropped.  _Damn them all._

 

"I'm being bombarded too, if it helps."

 

"It sort of doesn't." He laughed as she sighed and rubbed her face. "Are you sober yet?" She nodded. "Then how about you come sit down?" Clarke sat at the end of his bed, facing him carefully before she spoke. 

 

"I'm sorry I kind of ran away." She started, and Bellamy shook his head. 

 

"I've gathered that you were sort of freaking out." She nodded again, embarrassment heating her cheeks. He sighed. "Why?"

 

"I thought maybe you were just doing it because you thought I wanted you to." She admitted in a small voice and looked away from Bellamy. She heard him sigh again and move closer to her end of the bed. "Like, I'd been sort of flirty all day and I did want you to kiss me but I didn't want you to if you didn't want to, so when you did I-" She stopped and put her head in her hands. "I felt so awful. I never want you to feel like you have to do something just because I want you to."

 

Bellamy took her hand carefully, twisting it around so he could lace their fingers together and squeeze. "I wanted to, Princess."

 

"You did?"

 

"Gods, of course I did."

 

"Why, Bell?"

 

"Clarke, you know why." 

 

She leaned over to him and rested her forehead against his. "You could still tell me, you know." She pushed, but they were both smiling, the answer going unsaid. 

 

"Do you want to stay?" He asked, and she chuckled softly. 

 

"Do you want me to?" 

 

"Yes."

 

"Alright, then yes, I want to stay."

 

"Good."

 

* * *

 

They woke up easier, together, a few hours later, but with more texts than either of them had ever received before. 

 

"Did you know they were betting on us?" Clarke asked, rereading the texts from Monty. "Apparently Raven lost."

 

"Not surprised that they were betting, definitely surprised that Raven lost." He smiled and pushed her phone out of her hand and onto the floor. 

 

"Hey!"

 

"They've been freaking out this long already, they can wait a few more minutes." Clarke couldn't argue with that. She didn't want to. 

 

"Hey."

 

"Hi, Princess. Sleep well?"

 

"Better with you, yeah." She chewed her lip for a moment, then took a deep breath. "I love you."

 

"Yeah, and I love you." Bellamy responded, burying his face deeper into her hair. She smiled.

 

"Are you my boyfriend now?"

 

"For now, yeah."

 

"What do you mean, 'for now'?" Clarke demanded, anxiety leaking into the bliss that they were currently sharing. 

 

"I just meant-" Bellamy began, but was cut off when the sounds of shouts filled their home. "Oh, my God." He groaned and pulled Clarke tighter against him. She pulled the blanket up over their heads just as Bellamy's bedroom door was thrown open. 

 

"We caught you!" Jasper exclaimed from the door, but was quickly shushed by someone nearby. 

 

"They're still asleep, dipshit. Let them rest." There was the sound of Octavia yanking on Jasper's arm, and the laugh that came from a third intruder. 

 

"Yeah, I'm sure they were up all night, ah,  _working it out_ and  _confessing their feelings._ Let them sleep, Jas." Raven snorted at Octavia's protestations, and the three intruders were gone. 

 

"Well."

 

"Well, indeed." Clarke laughed and nuzzled Bellamy's neck as he grumbled about privacy. "Should we change the locks?"

 

"No use. Too expensive."

 

"You're right." Clarke listened to Bellamy's heartbeat for a moment, then pulled herself away from him. "Come on, Bell. Even if you suddenly do have a new, awesome, super hot girlfriend, you still have to work in-" She checked the time on her phone, noticed the new flurry of texts coming from Raven and Jasper. "In about an hour." Bellamy covered his head with a pillow and mumbled again, and she bit her lip, trying not to laugh at him. "If you come now, we can shower together?" 

 

The pillow hit the wall as Bellamy launched it off of his head. 

 

"I'm awake." He ignored Clarke's laughter and led the way to the bathroom. 

 

* * *

 

 

Bellamy explained a few years later that when he'd said "For now," he'd meant that he'd hoped, eventually, he'd be more than just her boyfriend. She kissed him, hard, and the next day, they were married, their dog, Jim (They named their dog Jim, because they both thought it was hilarious to give a very not-human a very human name. He was a Labracollie, and they loved him.) following Octavia and Lincoln's daughter down the aisle with the rings. Jasper officiated, and Monty caught the bouquet.

(Fin.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO.... So,,,,,, in case ya'll didn't like, notice, it took me over a year to come back to this story to finish it. LOL. I ran out of inspiration and got sad and time seriously flies when you're procrastinating. Anyways. I decided to finish this story before I publish my next one-- which I've already written like, half of, so that's cool. 
> 
> I'm sorry it took so long, but I hope you enjoyed it, y'all. Thanks for sticking around? lol.


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